IT Informer calls it quits

Readers of Internet IT Informer going to the site looking for technology news are in for a surprise.

July 31, 19976:30 PM PDT

Readers of Internet IT Informer who went to the site looking for technology news today were in for a surprise.

On the same day that rival tech news conglomerate CMP Media launched CMPnet, which combines content from the two dozen CMP sites, the much smaller and independent IT Informer shut down.

Instead of the usual lineup of information technology headlines, the text at IT Informer read: "Due to a lack of funding, we have been forced to withdraw the Internet IT Informer news service. We are grateful to all our readers for your support over the last two years."

The U.K.-based site focused on both American and European information technology issues. The site offered one of the only English-language tech news services based in Europe.

Charles Newman, managing editor of the site, blamed lack of advertising revenue and subscriptions for the ultimate demise of IT Informer. "It doesn't need to cost much for it to be too much," Newman said. "People can't carry on doing things for free; you either need deep pockets or you have to get out of it."

IT Informer was featured on Vpop'sNewsHub, which aggregates technology headlines from multiple publications.

Tom McDonald, president of Vpop, was "disappointed but not surprised" about the shutdown. "They had stories that we just didn't find anywhere else."

Newman was upbeat about his time with IT Informer: "We did something we got really excited by, we were out there with the big guys, [and] we had achieved a high profile, a prestigious position...It is one hell of an achievement."